Google’s shift towards AI search, as well as the emergence of AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity, have changed SEO keyword research for small businesses. Potential customers use keywords that are highly targeted and conversational – to the point at which no two keyword results are exactly the same. Small businesses therefore must follow a more thorough process to choose keyword for SEO strategies.
Start Keyword Research by Outlining SEO Goals
The first step towards choosing keywords for SEO is to outline your SEO goals. Do you want to increase brand awareness for your small business? Then top-of-funnel, informational, and higher volume keywords are best. Do you want to prioritize lead generation and sales? Then bottom-of-funnel and transactional keywords are best. Of course, any small business owner wants to increase brand awareness and leads at the same time. But in the beginning of your SEO keyword research, it is a good idea to identify single and targeted goals.
Define Target Audience for SEO Keywords
Once you outline your SEO goals, it is time to define your target audience. As a small business owner, you already have a clear idea of your customer traits and characteristics. You know where they live, how old they are, how they communicate, what product and service features they value, and so on. All this demographic and other customer information help you frame your keyword topics.
Beyond customer information, you can group your audience into separate buyer group based on the customer journey:
- Awareness: people early in the journey who research topics related to your small business
- Consideration: people who have done research and are now comparing small businesses
- Decision: people later in the journey who are ready to choose a small business
To maximize SEO keyword performance, you need to choose different keywords for each of these three buyer groups.
Brainstorm Broad Keyword Topics and Questions
Before you pick and choose actual target keywords, you must brainstorm keyword topics. These topics should be broad and general. For example, here are some keyword topics for a travel agency: travel services, vacation services, custom travel planning. These keyword topics function as seed keywords because there are many keyword variations that stem from them. Those keyword variations are what you want to target.
Expand your list of keyword topics by creating a list of common questions related to your business and audience. These common questions are often pain points and solutions for which your target customers search in Google.
Understand Search Intent for SEO Keywords
Search intent is an important SEO element that can be explained by a simple question: what does this keyword really mean? Answering this question helps you better understand the underlying reasons why somebody searches a particular keyword. Only then will you be able to decide which keywords are best for your business.
For small businesses, there are two main types of search intent:
- Informational intent is when a person searches to learn something or to find an answer to a question.
- Transactional intent is when a person searches to take an action such as contacting or purchasing.
If your main goal is to raise brand awareness, then you should prioritize informational intent keywords. But if you prefer to drive leads and sales, then transactional keywords are better options.
Find SEO Keywords with Search Volume and Interest
Now that you have laid the foundation for your SEO keyword research, it is time to start finding target keywords. Ideally, you need to find keywords with significant search volume and interest. People are actually searching these keywords, so ranking for them will increase awareness and traffic.
The most common metric for search interest is monthly search volume: the amount of searches for a keyword each month. While your first instinct is to choose keywords with the highest search volume, it is better for small businesses to choose keywords with low to moderate volume. These keywords tend to be less competitive, which means you have a realistic chance at ranking for them. As a rule of thumb, small businesses should start with keywords with a monthly search volume of 10-100.
What Tools Are Available to Measure Search Volume?
Small businesses can rely on a few tools to measure search volume and interest:
- Google Keyword Planner: free tool that provides search volume estimates by keywords. This provides a great baseline for your keyword research.
- Google Trends: free tool that provides search interest, but not actual volume, for keyword topics over time.
- SEMrush: paid tool that provides search volume, trends, and competitor analysis. There is a free version with limited keyword research that may be enough for small businesses.
- AlsoAsked: paid tool that provides related questions for keyword topics. You can get three free searches each day.
- ChatGPT: ChatGPT and other AI tools can help you
Review Organic Search Results for SEO Keywords
After you create a list of SEO target keywords, it is worthwhile to search those keywords in Google. These keyword searches show you exactly what you are up against when it comes to increasing organic visibility. And more importantly, you will better understand the type of content you need to produce rank for target keywords. Pay close attention to Google AI Overviews, pay-per-click (PPC) ads, and local features.
SEO Keywords with Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are a winner-takes-all feature in organic search. When an AI Overview is present, the only way for your business to be visible is to appear in the AI result. Even appearing directly underneath is not enough. For newer businesses, it may be a good idea to initially focus on keywords without AI Overviews. You have a more realistic chance at ranking in traditional organic results than AI results.
PPC Ads in Google Search Results
If PPC ads (which are called Sponsored Results in Google) appear at the top of keyword results, then you should avoid those keywords for now. PPC ads limit the possibility for organic visibility. In fact, some keywords have so many ads that there is nearly zero organic presence for small businesses.
Local vs National SEO Keywords
Does your small business have a local audience? Then you should prioritize local keywords instead of national keywords. Local keywords are less competitive, so your small business has a realistic chance of appearing in search results. Look for keywords that include the local map pack in search results. These keywords have high local intent.
Conduct Competitor Analysis in Organic Search
In addition to reviewing the organic search landscape, small businesses must conduct competitor analysis. The first step is to determine which types of websites and business rank for target keywords. Do big, national brands rank at the top? Remove those keywords from your list because you do not have a good chance of ranking. Do your local competitors rank? Keep those keywords because they are within your range.
The second step is to assess your top-ranking competitors and see what they are doing to rank for your target keywords. Analyze their website and pages and use them as templates for your own. The key here is to take what your competitors do and improve on it.
Identify List of SEO Target Keywords and Map Content
At this point, you have taken your original list of target keywords and removed the ones that are too competitive for your small business. This updated list now consists of keywords for which your small business website can rank. Review each keyword and then note which of your webpages is best for that keyword. For some keywords, you may need to publish new content on your website.
CORE Search and SEO Services
CORE Search is your partner for SEO services. We can work with you to research and identify target keywords that give you the best chance at ranking in online search. Beyond that, we provide and implement strategies to maximize keyword visibility in Google, ChatGPT, and other search engines.